Behrouz Kamalian
- Head of the Ashianeh cyber security group (0000 - present)
- Human Rights Violation: Leading cyber-attacks on political and civil activists and news websites (0000 - present) read more
- Institution
- IRGC
- Location
- Inside Iran and abroad
- Rights Violated
- Right to freedom of expression, Right to privacy
- Description
Behrouz Kamalian, as the director of the Ashianeh Security Group, is responsible for numerous attacks on news websites and accounts of political and civil activists, organisations, journalists, opponents and critics of the Islamic Republic. This group was launched in 2001, which later became the Ashianeh Security Team. Ashianeh members also operate under a hacker group called the Iranian Cyber Army, which works closely with Iran's intelligence and security agencies, especially in the wake of widespread protests against the 2009 election results, in order to silence activists and the domestic and foreign media.
Among the group's cyber-attacks on opposition and critics of the government are the following:
-
Attack on the Azadi Green Wave website (16 December, 2009),
-
Attack on the Radio Zamaneh news website (29 February, 2009),
-
Attack on the Twitter website (18 December, 2009),
-
Attack on the Amirkabir University newsletter website (6 February, 2009),
-
Attack on VOA News and 95 affiliated websites (24 March, 2011),
-
Attack on the Jaras news website (13 February, 2010).
-
- Sources
Ashianeh Security Group or Iranian Cyber Army, Deutsche Welle, 2010
Green Wave site hacked, Tabnak, 16 December, 2009
Radio Zamaneh website was re-launched, 5 February, 2010
Details of hacking Twitter by Iranian hackers, Tabnak, 18 December, 2009
Amirkabir newsletter site was hacked, Kaleme website, 6 February, 2010
In response to the lies and sedition of the counter-revolutionary Websites, the Iranian cyber army hacked the Voice of America and 95 related websites , Kayhan, 25 March, 2010
https://www.magiran.com/article/2246112
New internet attack on the websites of Iranian protesters, BBC Farsi, 14 February, 2010
- Human Rights Violation: Leading cyber-attacks on political and civil activists and news websites (0000 - present) read more
On 10 October, 2011, the European Union placed 29 Iranian officials on the human rights sanctions list, including Behrouz Kamalian, for their role in widespread and gross violations of the rights of Iranian citizens. According to the decision, Kamalian will be barred from entering the union and all his assets in Europe will be confiscated. According to the statement, Behrouz Kamalian is responsible for widespread cyber-attacks on domestic and foreign dissidents and hacking of news websites.